With the Bruins making it official today that center Gregory Campbell has signed a three-year deal with the club and fellow pivot Chris Kelly has reached an agreement in principle on a four-year deal with the team, Boston now has 12 forwards who played a major role on last year’s team under contract for the 2012-13 season.

Only Benoit Pouliot (RFA) and Brian Rolston (UFA) aren’t in the mix with less than three weeks remaining until the start of free agency.

While the Bruins’ current roster makeup might make one think general manager Peter Chiarelli has changed his mind since he declared in early May that he wanted to add a top-nine forward, he doesn’t see it that way. He’s just setting himself up for a scenario where he’s not able to add the player he wants.

“I feel really good with our lineup right now,” Chiarelli said during a conference call about Campbell and Kelly Wednesday. “To add a player like I talked about still isn’t out of the realm of possibilities. It gives me a lot of flexibility going into the free agency. But this is as solid a forward group as you could get. So if we do nothing, that’s fine. But if something comes across that looks attractive and we have to look at it, we’ll certainly look at it.”

Centres are at a premium in this year’s free agent crop. To get these two guys re-signed is a positive statement about the Bruins, Bruin management, and the city of Boston. I think that Chiarelli is fine with Ralston and Pouliot walking. He appears he would be okay with Caron or Knight filling the last forward spot, and hopefully Horton comes back healthy. His focus will be on Tukka, and maybe signing Zanon as the seventh d-man. Everyone needs to remember that the theatrics of Thomas have him between a rock and a hard place.

One would have to think that Pouliot is out and that Chiarelli is possibly going to utilize his money plus what he has left to pick up a scoring forward with grit and experience, through trade or free agency.

Defense seems to be set as well–Hamilton will definitely make the team because he stands to make few gains in the “O”. Plus, I see one more experienced D-man added to rotate with Dougie.

Any idea, MattK, on who the forward pick up could be?
(Great to hear you on XM radio yesterday!)